Coronavirus: A Global Pandemic

The spread of the novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) over the past few months has adversely affected everyone across the
world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the COVID-19 as a
pandemic.

Origin
and Nature of Coronavirus

People infected with coronavirus were
first detected in Chinese city Wuhan’s Seafood Wholesale Market.

WHO named the virus COVID-19 and
declared it a ‘pandemic’.Its technical name is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses
causing common cold to fatal diseases, such as, Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

These are transmitted from animals to
humans, therefore, considered zoonotic. For example, SARS-CoV was transmitted
in humans from civet cats.Covid-19’s ability for continuous mutation allows it
to jump to humans.

Covid-19 is transmitted among humans mainly
through respiratory droplets.

The incubation period of Covid-19 is
usually 14 days.

To test Covid-19 positive people,
Polymerase Chain Reaction Test is done which detects the genetic material of
the virus, that is, RNA in the human sample.

Hydroxychloroquine has been touted as a
possible remedy to COVID-19, but medical experts are still divided over its
efficacy.

It is similar to the anti-malarial drug
chloroquine.

Used in treating auto-immune diseases
like rheumatoid arthritis.

India is one of the biggest
manufacturers of this drug.

International
Response

COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
has been announced by WHO to mobilize various businesses, institutions and
private individuals against the pandemic.

COVID Action Platform, created
byWorld Economic Forum along with WHO, aimsto provide a platform for a
collective action against the pandemic by the business community all over the
world.

Emergency Fundhas
been created under SAARC to respond to the pandemic within South Asia.
Contributions to the fund are voluntary.

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
Innovations (CEPI), launched by WEF in 2017, is
bringing together sections of academia, civil society, business and government
leaders to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.

Resolution named ‘Global solidarity
to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)’ has been unanimously
adopted by UN General Assembly which outlines the problem of racism and
xenophobia in the fight against the pandemic.

UN Security Council held a virtual
closed session to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian
Government’s Response

Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 has been
invoked.

National Disaster Management Act has
been invoked to bring states under direct control of Centre to ensure
coordination.

India’s experience in dealing with Ebola
in 2014 and Nipah in 2018 has been applied in taking quick quarantine and
surveillance measures.

Indian government has identified certain
‘hotspots’ which are to be sealed to prevent further spread of the pandemic.
The criterion for a hotspot is still subject to change as it is based on the
continuous data inputs on the spread of virus. Even a single case in an area is
enough to consider it a hotspot if it poses the risk of a wider spread.

Indian government has launched
AarogyaSetu Mobile App, developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, to
identify those infected by Covid-19 through self-testing and contact tracing
using Bluetooth and GPS.

Ministry of Tourism has launched a
portal ‘Stranded in India’ to assist tourists.

To check misinformation/fake news, a
Fact Check Unit has been set up in the Press Information Bureau.

To counter the shortage of testing kits,
the National Institute of Virology, which falls under the Indian Council on
Medical Research has approved Covid-19 testing kits manufactured by domestic
private firms.

There is still no news of community transmission
in India, which is when the source of infection is unknown. Following are the 4
stages of pandemic spread-

Stage 1 – First appearance of the
disease

Stage 2 – Local transmission

Stage 3 – Community transmission

Stage 4 – Widespread outbreak. E.g. US
and Italy

Economic
Impact of the Pandemic

Due to the shutdown of industries in
China and other manufacturing hubs, there has been a disruption of supply
chains which has resulted in the scarcity of finished and intermediate
good. In case of India, its dependence on China for approximately 85% of active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) has exposed its pharmaceutical sector to price
volatility.

US companies severely affected by the
shortage of intermediate goods may cut down on their dependence on China, thus
further intensifying the trade war.

Banking sector has come under intense
pressure for the expected default on loans in huge numbers, not just by
private individuals but also industries. Consequently, the bad loan crisis is
going to get worse in the Indian banks, to which RBI has responded by pumping
more liquidity in the system.

Internationally, the possibility of insolvency
and default has triggered capital flight in emerging economies and a sharp drop
in global FDI.

With oil consumption by manufacturing
industries and vehicles going down, oil prices and demand has dropped.

Airlines and tourism industry are the
obvious victims of lockdowns all over the world.

Massive unemployment has been
unleashed by the lockdowns, especially amongst the migrant workers in the
informal sector. Indian government has responded through cash transfer using
JhanDhan accounts.

Conclusion

International response to the Covid-19
pandemic has been relatively efficient and transparent compared to the SARS
outbreak, nonetheless, mistakes have been committed in the delayed announcement
of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO and delayed imposition
of international travel restrictions.

UN Security Council has also failed to
take definitive decisions because of the geo-political rivalry between US and
China. Moreover, withdrawal of funding from WHO by US has further aggravated
the crisis.